Hiring Guides
How to Write a Hiring Brief That Gets the Right Shortlist
The quality of your shortlist depends on the quality of your brief. Here is a template that works for any role.
A good hiring brief describes outcomes, must-have skills, seniority, working hours, tools and how success will be measured. It takes 20 minutes to write and saves weeks of mismatched interviews.
The template
- Role title — use the common market title.
- Context — company, product, team size.
- Outcomes — what success looks like in 90 days.
- Must-have skills — three to six essentials.
- Nice-to-have skills — useful extras.
- Seniority — decision-making expected.
- Hours and overlap — time zone and shift.
- Tools — the software they will use.
- Engagement — full-time, part-time or hourly.
- Interview process — steps and timeline.
Example outcomes
- "Launch the customer portal MVP."
- "Reduce support first response time to under two hours."
- "Publish eight SEO articles per month."
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Listing every possible skill | Separate must-have from nice-to-have |
| No outcomes | Define 90-day success |
| Vague hours | State overlap needed |
Share your brief through our get started form for matched profiles.
